France on Tuesday banned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country, making him the second Israeli cabinet member barred from French territory in recent weeks. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced the move, linking it directly to Smotrich’s advocacy for annexing the West Bank and resettling Gaza.
Barrot accused Smotrich of actively promoting “the annexation of the West Bank, the creation of new settlements, the re-colonisation of Gaza, the economic collapse of the Palestinian Authority and its harmful consequences for the Palestinian population.” He added that France also banned four leaders of settler organisations and 21 violent settlers.
Coordinated Western Response
Notably, the French announcement came in coordination with Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway, all of which banned both Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir from their territories last June. France had already barred Ben Gvir on 23 May, after he mocked activists detained by Israeli soldiers from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. Spain, Slovenia and Ireland have since issued similar bans.
Barrot described the measures as a stand against “the intensification of settlement-building and violence in the West Bank,” which the overwhelming majority of the international community rejects as incompatible with a two-state solution.
Israel’s foreign ministry swiftly condemned the sanctions as “disgraceful,” with spokesman Oren Marmorstein arguing they represent an attempt to impose a political position on Jewish settlement rights “camouflaged as measures against violence.”
Coalition Cornerstone
Together, Ben Gvir and Smotrich form a cornerstone of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition. Ben Gvir entered government in 2022 following an alliance between his party and Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionist movement.
Meanwhile, Britain on Tuesday also urged its businesses and citizens to avoid financial activities in Israeli settlements. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told parliament that “violent settler groups should not be profiting from the land that they have seized from Palestinians,” adding that Israeli government condemnations of settler violence “ring hollow when there is scant accountability.”
Since the war began in Gaza in October 2023, violence has surged across the West Bank, as Israeli forces and settlers killed at least 1,080 Palestinians, while at least 46 Israelis died, according to AFP tallies.
